Hotel Highlights

Contemporary cool at B&B rates

Victorian villa near Llandudno's beaches

Explore Conwy, castles and Snowdonia National Park

Overview

With nine custom designed rooms set in a gorgeous old home in north Wales Escape hotel offers a chic retreat in this breathtaking part of the world, between the sea and the mountains. Warm hosts, Sam and Gaenor love to chat about combing antique fairs across Europe and scoring furniture and decorative items on eBay that fill this B&B. Their love of design and passion for hosting is reflected – and felt – throughout.

Facilities

Need To Know

Rooms

Check–out

Rates

More details

Rates include breakfast.

Also

Over New Year, there's a minimum two-night stay, subject to a 50 per cent supplement (which doesn't apply to stays of over three nights). Escape has recently refurbished its rooms – Contemporary Chic has a new Nordic feel, the Boudoir has LED wallpaper and 22-carat gold tiles in the bathroom, the Loft's mezzanine has been extended and Calm & Light has a floating bed.

Hotel closed

Closed for Christmas between 21 and 26 December.

At the hotel

Tea/coffee-making facilities, TV/DVD, WiFi; BOSE docking systems and some rooms have PlayStations. There is a guest lounge with plasma-screen TV and DVD library.

Our favourite rooms

Rooms 1 and 3 are the largest and have luxurious bathrooms (Room 1 has an LED illuminated shower and there's a copper bath in Room 3) and panoramic views of the beaches and mountains from large bay windows.

Packing tips

The Snowdonia National Park is only 20 minutes away, so pack stout walking boots and head for the hills. It’s always a good idea to prepare for all weather conditions; even in summer, conditions can be changeable.

Also

Guests may use the landscaped garden. Escape is non-smoking throughout. Minimum two-night stay at weekends, three nights over bank holidays, unless by special arrangement – subject to availability.

Children

Children over 10 are welcome.

Food & Drink

◐View Gallery

Hotel Restaurant

Breakfast is 8am–9am during the week and 9am–10am at weekends. It includes a wide selection of Continental options, and hot breakfasts to order: traditional full Welsh or vegetarian.

Smith Insider

Local Guide

Worth getting out of bed for

If you’re feeling active, Snowdonia National Park is perfect for a huge range of activities, including mountain biking, rock climbing, canyoning, hiking and canoeing. Escape can help organise specific activities, or see www.snowdonia-active.com for details. West Shore is the quieter of Llandudno’s beaches, and popular with kite-surfers. There are several of the British Isles’ most spectacular castles within easy reach. Conwy Castle is ten minutes away.

Local restaurants

Osborne’s Café and Grill on the Promenade (+44 (0)1492 860330) is a wonderfully elegant Victorian bistro, serving good brasserie-style food in ornate, candlelit surroundings. Richard’s Restaurant on Church Walks (+44 (0)1492 877924) has a good bistro menu with a strong emphasis on locally sourced ingredients. Number One’s Bistro on Old Road (+44 (0)1492 875424) is another popular option, with specialities including Welsh rump steak with coriander butter. Bengal Dynasty on North Parade (+44 (0)1492 875928) serves tasty Indian dishes. It’s a local dependable, especial on Sundays when many restaurants are closed. Try Cadwalder’s Ice Cream Café, on Mostyn Street, for an old-fashioned seaside treat.

Automobiles

Reviews

Anonymous review

By Mr & Mrs Smith.

To those still burdened by an outmoded image of Wales’s north coast, ‘Escape, Llandudno’ may sound more like advice rather than a destination, but it was definitely London we wanted to escape. It was a grey and miserable Sunday in the capital – the kind of grey that makes you want to stay in bed. We stood enviously behind a couple at the Hertz office in Victoria as they wer…

Escape

By Mr & Mrs Smith.

To those still burdened by an outmoded image of Wales’s north coast, ‘Escape, Llandudno’ may sound more like advice rather than a destination, but it was definitely London we wanted to escape. It was a grey and miserable Sunday in the capital – the kind of grey that makes you want to stay in bed. We stood enviously behind a couple at the Hertz office in Victoria as they were invited to upgrade to a Saab convertible and could only wish we could get out of the city as fast.

We were soon heading out of the city as fast as our snug little C-class Ford would carry us, and looking forward to a relaxing little sortie to the coast. As we zoomed up the M6 under the brooding skies, the excitement of a couple of days’ rest began to increase. The rain fell horizontally, the windscreen wipers working overtime, but everything was in place for the perfect break: no phones or laptops – just me, my fiancé, and a favourite CD. Anyway, if we’d had a convertible we’d have risked drowning.

We took the scenic route to Llandudno, via the mist-wreathed Snowdonian mountains and the slate-grey hills of Blaenau Ffestiniog. After a lot of soggy sheep and an unplanned diversion through a field, we crested the last ridge and descended into Llandudno, the sun appearing just in time to greet us with a spectacular sunset. We were given a warm welcome to Escape – Llandudno’s first contemporary boutique B&B – by one of its owners, Sam, and within minutes were invited to a convivial beer on the soft grey sofas in the Victorian sitting room.

We sat in the two Conran Love Chairs overlooking a perfectly manicured garden and took in the eclectic mix of original grandeur and modern touches. The contrast had been thoughtfully and tastefully arranged; next to the plasma screen, photos of the villa’s original inhabitants in 1888 stared benignly down at us. With telling attention to detail, Sam and his wife Gaynor had found the photos in the local council archives.

There are nine individually designed rooms at Escape. When you speak to Sam and Gaynor about the fun they had browsing eBay and antiques fairs for signature furniture, such as Robin Day chairs, infinity mirrors and original 1960s Sanderson flock wallpaper, you can feel their passion for design, and it’s reflected in every corner of the B&B. We’d chosen luxurious Room One, every bit as fab as the new wave of B&Bs we know in Brighton, except with the kind of fantastic mountain view it’s hard to come by in Sussex.

It wasn’t long before we remembered we hadn’t eaten since breakfast and, after a browse of the menus from local restaurants, we made the short walk to the promenade and Osbourne House. The door was locked. I pressed the buzzer, thinking this must be a very exclusive place indeed, but a little old lady appeared telling us that they had had a slow Sunday night and had decided to close early. Do they ever have a fast Sunday in Llandudno?

Fortunately, the trusty local Indian restaurant, the Bengal Dynasty, came to the rescue with a tasty curry. What’s more, its vivid carpeting banished any last thoughts of grey London. (and has furnished me with souvenir wallpaper for my camera-phone.) Shortly after, we were submerged in our best night’s sleep in a long time, bathed in crisp white sheets in our oversized leather bed.

We woke to mountain views, fabulous blue sky and the feeling we had slept for a week. After a relaxing spa bath, we made our way to the breakfast room, where Gaynor and Sam served us lattes and a hearty breakfast. The delicious Welsh sausages gave us the strength for a romantic walk along the beach, taking in the beauty and elegance of this old Victorian holiday town. As we sat with our feet on the sand, London seemed a million miles away.

On the way back, we decided to give Osbourne House another try. This time there was no little old lady to turn us away. We were led through the black beachfront door into a romantic Victorian bistro with opulent drapes and chandeliers. Quickly brushing the sand off our clothes, we were seated in a candlelit dining room that wouldn’t be out of place in Knightsbridge. We tried to conceal our excitement as we ordered cod in crispy batter, salt and vinegar mushy peas with fresh chipped potatoes – times two – which we washed down with a bottle of Chablis Premier Cru. We were in heaven.

We had to eventually accept that it was time to make our way east, back to the grey Hertz office in Victoria. We said our goodbyes to our new friends Sam and Gaynor and then retraced our route back through the mountains towards the motorway and London. We’d found our perfect escape from the city and, before we’d even left Snowdonia, we were already planning which room we wanted to book next time.

Images taken by Ben Anders for a feature in Sunday Times Style magazine.

The Guestbook

Reviews of Escape from Smith members

Whenever you book a stay through us, we’ll invite you to comment when you get back. Read the Guestbook entries below to see what real-life Mr & Mrs Smiths have said about this hotel…

Maureen

BlackSmith

Stayed on
8 Jan 2015

We loved

The staff were charming.

Rating:
10/10 stars

Sadie

BlackSmith

Stayed on
14 Apr 2014

We loved

I liked the gorgeous building and lovely breakfast, and Josh was very helpful.

Don’t expect

The rain shower in our room was a bit slow to drain, but otherwise everything was good!

Rating:
8/10 stars

David

BlackSmith

Stayed on
29 Oct 2013

We loved

I liked the really quirky, comfy rooms and quality breakfast. The staff was all very helpful and friendly.

Don’t expect

Dressing gowns in the room would've been good. I'm being picky though!

Owen

We loved

The rooms were all individually decorated and ours had a bath tub with a view out of the gorgeous Victorian bay window. The breakfast was fresh, well prepared and made use of quality ingredients.

Don’t expect

There could have been more cooked choices on the breakfast menu (aside from full English and salmon scrambled eggs) and the room could have been stocked with slightly more upmarket toiletries and perhaps mints or chocolates instead of the fruit chews on offer. All minor suggestions, though; our stay was lovely.

Rating:
8/10 stars

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (excluding tax) available in the next {dayrange} days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency ({currency}{rate_ex}), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.